LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - October 5, 2010) - A new era of social stationery starts today with the launch of Paperlinks, a fresh, interactive experience that will change the way people make, send, share and respond to personal invitations, cards and announcements. A "Paperlink" is a customized Quick Response (QR) barcode that can be scanned with a smartphone to allow invitees access to everything from photos and videos to registries and detailed event information.
Developed by online social stationery printing service Paperspring, Paperlinks transforms each invitation, announcement and holiday card into a unique social experience via a custom QR code. These codes are square, two-dimensional codes that are essentially a printed version of a hyperlink, and can be scanned with a mobile app to access content in the form of URLs, text, photos and more. Custom Paperlinks QR codes are printed with each order of cards, linking the card recipient to a custom site where they have access to "bonus material" that adds a dimension of fun and social connection to each card!
"The mobile Web has enabled digital interactivity with real-world items. Our aim with Paperlinks is to make static items like paper cards come alive with the power of the mobile Web and smartphone capabilities," said Hamilton Chan, Paperlinks CEO and founder. "Big life events -- births, weddings and holidays -- are social, and are a natural place for us to start with rich interactivity. We also recognize the opportunity for Paperlinks to connect consumers outside of those events. The future possibilities are endless, and we look forward to opening up more applications for real-world links to our users."
With real-world QR-enabled links, Paperlinks connects invitations, announcements and cards to individualized landing pages where visitors can access additional content, creating richer and more interactive communications. The Paperlinks mobile app is now available on the iTunes app store, making these personalized social pages accessible on the go.
- To create Paperlink-enabled social stationery, customers can visit www.Paperspring.com, where they can build holiday cards, invitations and announcements. With their order, customers have the option to add a free Paperlink to their cards. Upon checkout, they will be taken to a micro-site, where they can build out their custom landing page with additional content such as photos, videos and event information. Soon, customers will be able to go directly to www.Paperlinks.com to create a personalized QR code and page for any use.
- Customers receive their Paperlinks-enabled stationery with a Paperlink QR code printed on the back of each card. Social stationery recipients can scan the Paperlink with their smartphone app, sending them directly to an interface within the app, where they can access rich content. Alternatively, recipients without the app can type the website address into their browser and access the same content.
- Recipients of a Paperlinked invitation will be able to RSVP to an event from their phone, make a comment, view a map to the event, view photos, add the event to their calendar, and more! Says Hamilton Chan, "It's the social Web in a card!"
- And that's it! Adding a layer of fun to traditional stationery is easy, and will make this year's holiday cards and announcements unique and eye-opening!
"Today, consumers experience content across a variety of platforms," continued Chan. "While digital replaces offline media in newspapers, magazines and even books, people continue to value the printed invitation, card or announcement as a memento of important life events. With Paperlinks, you have the best of both worlds: a beautiful, tangible keepsake and the convenience of digital communication. Paperlinks bridges the gap between printed and digital elements of social interactions and unites them in a fun, inspiring way across the mobile Web."
About Paperlinks
Paperlinks is reinventing the world of traditional paper communications by using custom QR codes to take stationery, personal communications and marketing from one dimension to three. Paperlinks' real-world QR-enabled links connect invitations, announcements and cards to custom, mobile websites where visitors can interact with and access additional content to make important communications come alive. Paperlinks can also be used to provide Context-Sensitive Marketing for advertisers of any size. The Paperlinks mobile app is now available in the iTunes App Store, making personalized social pages available on the go. For more information, please visit www.paperlinks.com, or visit the iTunes App Store.
To find out more, or to create your own free Paperlink, please visit: www.paperlinks.com and www.paperspring.com.
Contact Information:
Contact
Melissa Klein or Greer Karlis
paperspring(at)launchsquad(dot)com
(415) 625-8555